Strange and Unusual Prey

Starving was one word to describe the feline. Absolutely dying of hunger. Every pang and grumble in his belly caused his tail and face to twitch and twist. He had been checking his well-placed traps for the last week. Nothing. It didn't matter where he put it, what he put in it, or how many, not a single bite. Not even a mouse or a hare. He even placed some snares out for the larger animals and they seemingly avoided each other. Typically, he stuck to the more crowded locations where he could hide in the trees in case he needed to pounce on something. Not that he enjoyed that, but he would do what was necessary.

Becoming desperate, he moved out to the prairie. Wide open expanse spread out before him. Nowhere for him to hide except in the dying grass that wavered in the chilly Autumn breeze. He was no cheetah so running after something was unlikely. What he had noticed though were the different types of prey lingering along the prairie. Lately, he noticed sheep instead of pronghorn. Minks instead of hares. Moose instead of deer. Animals appeared to get themselves lost. Their eyes were wide with panic as they migrated to the wrong locations.

Luckily for him, he wasn't going to let the chance to get some of the rarer animals get away. Working tirelessly through the day, Irving made work to build a decent-sized pen. He rolled and shifted logs between boulders while leaving a wide enough opening for something as large as a dall sheep to run through but not back out. If only he had someone to help him it would get done so much faster...

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